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When Mrs. Estée andMr. Joseph Lauderfounded The EstéeLauder Company in1946, they inspired acommitment to“Bringing the Best toEveryone We Touch.”Today, The Estée LauderCompanies is touchingthe lives of young womenin the Mekong Deltathrough a unique private-public partnership withThe Asia Foundation’sWomen’s EmpowermentProgram – creating TheEstée Lauder Scholars.The Estée Lauder Companies is pleased to supportthis program so the girls in Vietnam have opportu-nities for higher education and empowerment,which are priorities for both The Estée LauderCompanies and The Asia Foundation. These fundswill support three-year scholarships for 70 girls fromlow-income families to complete secondary school,grades 10-12.
Vietnam has made strides during the last decade toimprove the quality of public education and increas-ing enrollment rates. Although primary education isofficially free in Vietnam, families must still pay forbooks and learning materials, uniforms, transporta-tion, and school building maintenance costs. This isan often overwhelming burden for poor families,
especially as education for girls isoften seen as a less valuableinvestment than for boys. If fami-lies cannot afford to educate all oftheir children, many choose tosend their boys to school andkeep their girls at home. As aresult, many girls drop out afterprimary school. In the MekongDelta, more than 70 percent ofschool drop-outs are girls, andmany of them regress to illiteracyafter leaving school. Without aneducation, poor girls are vulnera-ble to human trafficking andother exploitive or abusive situa-tions. Many young womenbecome trapped in a vicious cycle
of poverty, illiteracy and ill-health. The Estée LauderScholars will have the chance to escape this trap andhave a far better life.
The Asia Foundation’s Women’s EmpowermentProgram is a natural partner for the Company. TheWomen's Empowerment program designs andimplements cutting-edge programs to empower girlsand women and help them reach their potential.These programs educate girls; provide vocationaland business skills training for poor women; facili-tate access to credit to enable women to start andgrow a business; train women in leadership skillsand encourage them to run for elected office; edu-cate women voters; and help to combat traffickingin persons and violence against women.
VIETNAM
THE ESTÉE LAUDER SCHOLARS PROGRAM
HEADQUARTERS465 California Street, 9th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94104 USATel: (415) 982-4640Fax: (415) [email protected]
WASHINGTON, DC1779 Massachusetts Ave., NWSuite 815Washington, D.C. 20036 USATel: (202) 588-9420Fax: (202) [email protected]
10/2010
The Estée Lauder Scholars Program will expand The Asia Foundation education efforts on-the-ground inVietnam. Since 2004, the Foundation has provided tuition and basic educational materials for nearly 400highly motivated, aspiring young girls, making it possible for them to attend primary and secondary schoolin Vietnam. The Estée Lauder Scholars are currently being selected. Tran Thi Thanh and Huyynh NgocHuyen (pictured below) are two examples of some of the selected students.
The Asia Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental international development organizationcommitted to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open Asia-Pacific region.The Foundation has been on-the-ground for almost 60 years working to improve governance,law, and civil society; women's empowerment; economic reform and development; sustainabledevelopment and the environment; and international relations. The Asia Foundation operatesthrough a network of 18 field offices throughout Asia, an office in Washington, DC, and its head-quarters in San Francisco.
OUR DONORS MAKE OUR PROGRAMS POSSIBLE
With contributions from private individuals, corporations, foundations, and public fun-ders, we are able to create exciting new models and expand successful programs that aremaking a significant difference in the lives of girls and women across the Asia-Pacificregion. To support our programs, please visit the Women’s Empowerment Program pageat: www.asiafoundation.org.
Tran Thi Thanh Huynh Ngoc Huyen
